Yasir Shah issues warning for Pakistan ahead of Asia Cup: Don't take Virat Kohli easy

Pakistan will be starting off their campaign against India on 28 August. The strong Indian side is expected to perform well against Shaheen-less Pakistan.

Pakistan leg spinner Yasir Shah has asked the Asia Cup side to be wary of Virat Kohli. The talismanic Indian batter has not been in form for a while now, and has even dropped to the 32nd position in the ICC T20I rankings. However, Pakistan’s first choice leg spinner in the Test format, Yasir Shah, has issued a warning for his own team stating that one should not be taking Virat Kohli lightly.

"Don't take Virat Kohli easy. Yes, he is not in form because he is struggling to score runs, but he is a world-class player and he can come back to form at any time," he said to Pakistan channel pktv.tv.

Kohli has an exemplary record against Pakistan and was the only man standing at one end in the 2021 World Cup. If it were not for the former Indian captain’s half century, India could not have reached a respectable score of 151 runs.

The main force behind Pakistan’s win in that game - Shaheen Shah Afridi has been ruled out of the tournament, and it is expected that the quality of Indian top order would be capitalising on the same. Kohli has adopted a new approach to his batting under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, where India have shown attacking intent throughout the innings, unlike the last World Cup, where the top three batters prized their wickets.

The former Indian captain is expected to either open alongside Rohit Sharma or come at number three, however, that has not been clarified yet.